Fire of the Forsaken

Chapter 2

I woke up with a start. Vex was poking my shoulder.

"You actually fell asleep," he said. I looked around me. The sun had set into the sky and was leaving a beautiful orange glow in the room.

"Yeah, I guess so," I replied. There was a knock on my door.

"Aeoicz, it's dinner time," said Inaka. I stood up and slowly stretched. I felt refreshed, and that felt good. The memories still plagued me, but I wouldn't let that show. I went to my wardrobe and pulled out another black coat, this time it was an evening coat, meant for dinner. I quickly put it on and slicked back my hair. I opened the door and turned to Vex, who was standing in the middle of the room.

"Do I look presentable?" I asked, doing a little twirl. Vex sighed.

"Are you really okay?" He asked, still looking serious.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," I said, breathing a sigh of exasperation. Vex stared at me for a moment then looked from my head to my feet.

"Yes, you do look presentable," he said, now smiling.

"Thank you," I replied, turning and opening the door. Inaka was standing there, but instead having the serious look he always usually has, he looked concerned. I knew why.

"I'm fine, I really am," I said to him. He shook his head but didn't say anything. I kept walking down to dinner. I ran into Koketa on the way.

"Hey Aeoicz! I heard about the murder! Was there a lot of blood?" He said, looking up at me. I wasn't sure what exactly to say, like, what was I supposed to tell him? I saw a dead guys jugular?

"Yeah, there was a lot of blood," I said. His eyes widened.

"Really? Cool! What did the assassin look like?" He asked again.

"Was he wearing black? How did he get in?" Koketa continued. I didn't feel like talking too much about it. So I distracted him.

"Hey, let's get down to dinner, Father will be mad if we're late," I said. Koketa's eyes widened even more, for he has big eyes.

"You're right, let's go," he said. For a fourteen year-old kid he sometimes acted like he was ten. I didn't mind it, really. We walked down to dinner together, me trying to avoid his gross questions. Once we were down their I noticed Father wasn't in his usual spot. After doing a quick look, I concluded he wasn't in the room at all. I turned to one of the maids.

"Uh, where is my father?" I asked her. She shrugged.

"The King locked himself in his office, hasn't left in hours," she said. I nodded. I then turned to Koketa.

"Do you still want to eat here? I don't think Father will be coming down for dinner for a while," I said, gesturing to the dinner table.

"Sure," he said. We sat down in our normal spots, wood carved chairs with red plush seats. I looked at the table before me. Judging by the amount of chairs set, I guessed there would've been guests today, but I don't think anyone is coming here anytime soon. The dining room was huge. Marble floors that sparkled under the light of the chandelier, which was a beauty in itself. It dangled from the ceiling with crystals hanging from every part of it. When the candles shone through the crystals, they created a beautiful pattern on the walls. Long marble pillars stood holding up the ceiling, carved with designs of all kinds. The table was long, covered in long white table cloth with gold edges. Sitting on the cloth was food. It seemed the maids had taken some back to the kitchen, anticipating there wouldn't be many people here. I looked at the plate in front of me, roasted turkey, beans, potatoes, and sweet buttered corn. Usually all this would be gone in a minute, but today I just sat there, stabbing the potato with my fork. Yay. I got a new life skill. Not eating 24/7. Koketa had already eaten half of his dinner. I took a sip of my red wine. Vex can have his grape juice, but I get my wine.